Sucker-rod turner



:4 Q 1 n Ju e 21, 927 E. T. GRIBBLE SUCKER ROD TURNER Filed Jan. 9, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 We): e yy,

Inventor 6K 3.

June 21, 1927.

E. T. GRIBBLE SUCKER ROD TURNER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 9, 192.6

Jim en 15 01".

911 J. gum:

?atented June 21, 1927.

ELMER '1. GRIBBLE, or GQALILIGA, :CALI BHI A G ONE-HALF T ROBERT I tamer ears-mi car es.

. RI H R (.33?v CQA NG M; LIFQ N sUoKnn-non TURNER.

- Application 7 filed January My invention relates to means and devices usedpumping, the sucker-rod and the pump plunger, in order to equalize the wear upon contacting surfaces.

Appliances for this purpose are known in the art as rod-turners or rotors, and they commonly comprise, in various forms, means for clamping or gripping the I and adjnstably suspending it from the walking-beam through which-reciprocative motion is imparted to the sucker-rod and pump plunger, and a supplementary connection between the polish rodclamp and the walls ing-beam or other adjacentpart, of such a nature that, dependent upon and result of the. reciproeative movement, the polish rod, together with its connected sucker-rodstring and the pump plunger are all autoinatically rotated upon their axes.

it to this type or class of rod-turncrs or rotors that my'invention appertains and it consists in the novel construction, arrangement-and combination of parts which I shall hereinafter fully describe.

The prime obi ect of my invention is, while making the turning ofthe sucker rod and plunger automatically dependent upon the operation of the walking-be m, toso construct the device that the actual turning stress is not imposed by the beam, but is the function of a weighted lever exercised on its gravity stroke, the beamserving to lift it on the reverse stroke' 1 am thus able to provide for a relief from said. turning stress in case of resistance, thereby avoiding inury, and untoward results, and furthermore securing said object without complicating the structure as would be necessary in providing friction clutches in case the turning were done directly by the beam. My device is therefore a simple one,-and as such. is cap ble of being readily applied, removed, and manipulated to suit all the requirements of use in the-art of well pumping.

in the accompanying drawings I show my preferred d vice and some modifications thereof, which, together with other possible changes which may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art,.d o not depart from the spirit of my invention, but lie within itsscope, as defined by my claims hereto appended.

In the drawings-r is elevation of one form of association with well-pumps for slowly rotating, during the operation of 9 1926. Serial No., 80,388.

well. pumping.

Fig. 2 18 a sectional plan'view taken on the line 22 of Figs. 1 and 3.

Fig. Bis an elevation of the ratchetmechanism taken at right angles to the plane of Fig. l. ,7

l is a diagrammatic elevation, on a reduced scale, 'llustrating the operation of the device.

Fig. 5' is an elevation of a second form of my device adapted for use in pumping rigs employing a cable connection with the wall;- ing beam in place of the temper screw, shown in Fig.1 V p Fig. 6 is an elevation taken at right angles to thefplane ot Fig. 5.

Fig. 7' is'a diagrammatic elevation showing a modified form-of operating connection.

in the drawings, and referringior the moment to Figs. 1 and: thereof, the refwith the upper end of t 1e suclrer-rod-string 5, Fig. 1, the la ter extending into the well, whose casingdread is indicated at 5", and carrying at its lower end, the pumpplunger, said pump-plunger being omitted from the drawings as unnecessary'tor an understanding of my invention, it being readily understood that the rotation of the polish rod, willrotate both said stringand plunger.

My device includes a suitable clamp or grip for positively engagingthe polish-rod. This ciainpsl ould be capable of being readily applied to and removed from the rod 5, and as one of such a clamp, Ifhave shown, ig. 1, two coi i ipleinentaljaws 6 .embracing 'linearly the polish rod, em-

bracing member T'litted' totlie jaws, and a. set screw 8. for binding the clamp on the nod. The at their -upper ends are lli) formed with eyes-'6 to receive the lower ends of the links 9 which connect the clamp with the ratchet member of the device.

The ratchet member comprisesa ratchet ring 10 having an underlying cross web or plate 11 which is secured to a transverse member 12 by bolts (not shown) passing through holes 13, Fig. 2, in said plate 11, and said transverse member serves as a hanger for the upper ends of the links 9, as shown in Fi 1.

Upon the lower end of the temper-screw 3, below the handle at is rotatably mounted the ratchet member, said end passing freely through the cross plate 11 and the transverse member l2, and receiving a nut 14 on its extremity. A suitable anti-friction bearing, such as the ball bearing 15, is interposed between the nut 1a and the member 12; and above the cross plate 11, between it and the handlecollar 1' a sleeve 16 is fitted around the temper-screw, as a spacer.

It will now be seen that the polish rod is adjustably suspended by the temper-screw, and that, without interfering with said adjustment, said rod will be turned on its axis by the turning of the ratchet member act ing through the links 9 and the clamp members 6 and 7. Pivotally mounted upon the temper-screw handle 4-. by a journal member 1", and held inplace by laterally hearing collars 18, Fig. 3, is a. pawl-lever 19, Fig. 1, carrying at its outer extremity a .weight 20. The lever 19 carries near its inner end the pawl 21 which engages the ratchet ring 10. The relation of the pawl to the ratchet is such that, as the lever 19 drops about its pivotal axis, its pawl 21 engages the ratchet and turns itin a clockwise direction, thereby avoiding unscrewing stress on the couplings of the sucker-rod string and plunger; and when said lever rises about its axis its pawl slips the ratchet. To automatically eltect these movements ot the pawl-lever 19, it is, in one arrangement, as shown in Fig. 4;, connected with the walking beam 2 by a chain or line 22, the point of connection of the chain with the beam being located at some distance, lengthwise of the beam, from the point at which the temper screw hanger 1 is connected to said beam. It the point of attachment of the chain 22 be as it is preferred, closer to the pivotal axis of the beam than the point of attachment of the temper screw hanger, the effect will be that on the down stroke of the beam, the increasing angle between the hanger and the beam will cause av tightening of the chain 22 and the lifting of the pawl lever 19, as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 4, thereby slipping the pawl 21 back over the ratchet ring 10; while on the up stroke of the beam, the decreasing of the angle between the hanger and the beam will result in a slackening of said chain, whereby the pawleas es lever, 19, under the influence of its weight 20, will drop, and cause its pawl 21 to engage and turn the ratchet ring 10. The amount of movement imparted to the pawllever 19 by the operation of the walking beam may be varied by providing a plurality of eyes 22 upon said lever, to which the chain may be attached. It is obvious that if the points of attachment of the chain 22 and the hanger 2 were reversed on the beam, the movements of the pawl lever would take place on the reverse strokes of the beam, but this would not change the essential feature herein sought and attained, namely that the movement ot the ratchet and the consequent rod-turning effect are due primarily and directly to the gravity of the pawl lever 19 and not to the positive force of the walking-beam.

Herein lies what may be considered the chief object and advantage of my device. At the pump barrel sands up and thereby resists the turning of the plunger, or it the sucker-rod string should for any reason stick in its bearings and so resist a turning stress, it is evident that it said stress were due to the direct force of the walking-beam, such force n'iight be sufficient to either break the transmission members or to unscrew the pump barrel or the couplings of the pumpsuspending tubing-string. To avoid this it has been customary in the art to provide for a slip, such for example, as that permitted by a friction clutch in the rotor transmission mechanism, but this expedient involves com plexity of structure, and manifest di'l'iiculty in dismen'ibering the device in order to get it out of the way when the pump has to be pulled.

In my device. however, the turning stress being due directly to the weighted lever 19, such stress can be properly proportioned to the rod-turning capacity, while adapted to yield to a sticking or breaking resistance. Moreover an arrangement such as I have shown, is simple in structure, easily applied, and readily released from the polish rod and turned to one side when required.

In order to render the application or v device to existing pumping rigs more simp e, I provide a removable section 10-Fig. 2, in the ratchet ring 10, said ring section b ing carried by a plate section 11 IG-l'llOflll'Jl: cured to the plate 11. The plate 11 is also cut out, as shown at13, from its center aperture outwardly, so that, with the plate $1,3- tion 11 and the ratchetsection 10 removed, the ratchet ring 10 and its plate 11 can be mounted upon the temper screw 3 without disturbing the lower end connections thereof, by slipping it on from the side. The plate 11 is cut out at its opposite side, as shown at 13", to provide an aperture through which the upper end of the polish rod 5 may pass it it becomes necessary to take a lower hold on said rod, by moving the clamp 6 to a lower posit-ion thereon. The polish rod, in

such a case, would be slightly out of align ment with the temper screw, but this is permitted by the links In Figs. and 6I- have shown a modified term of my invention adapted for use with a common form of cable hanger. The hanger 1 is shown as a pair ot cables whose upper ends are connected withthe walking beam in the usual manner, and whose lower ends are provided with terminal connecting icmbers 28.. These are pivotally connected with pins 24 and 24: extending laterally from a T-shapedmember 25, upon whose lower or vertical leg 26 a transverse member 12, corresponding to the member 12 of F 1, is rotatably mounted. The ratchet ring 10 and its underlying plate 11 may beconnected with the member 12 by a hub 27, instead of being bolted thereto as in the pre viously described form. The ball thrust bearing 15 and the links 9 are employed by a. manner similar .to that shown in Fig 1.

I have shown in Fig. 5, a slightly diiij'erent form of clamp for engagingthe polish rod 5', but as such a clamp iswell known in the art, the details of its construction form no part 01": the present invention. Suffice it to that it 15 provided with gripplng aws 28 adapted to engage the polish rod, and hooks 29 for suspending it from the links 9.

The pin 24, 6, or the member 25 is slightly longer than the opposite pin 24, and provides a bearing for the end17 ot' the weighted lever. 19, by which the pawl 21 is carried and operated in a manner identical with that described above. The lower or vertical leg 26 of the T-shaped' member 25 is hollow, as shown in Fig. 5, to permit the upper end of the polish rod 5to pass up into it in case it is necessary to shorten the hold upon said rod.

lilhile T have hereinbetore described the connection of the pawl-levercontrol-chain 22 as being in certain relation ,with the walkingb eam, I am not to 'be confined to such htachinent, since, in so far my essential novelty is concerned, namely, the turning etfect being due to the .gravityof the lever,"

such novelty may be preser' ed under a different connection of the control chain. In order to illustrate this I refer to Fig. 7, in which thepawl1lever19 is connected by a chain orline 32 with an arm 33 extending laterally from the hanger 1. This arm 33 may beprovided for the pnrposeot attaching said chain, is shown',or it may be the usual upper transverse. arm or handle oi the temper screw, in case the latter be used as a part otthe hanger. .In eitherfcase the position of the cha'in. 32' i new; I to the other parts is thatshown in Fi '7 A secondv chain or line 34 connects the chain 32 with a fixed support 35, which may conveniently be ,the usual headache-post. This second chain is so proportioned as to deflect the chain 32 like a bow-string, asiindicated in dotted lines, when the hanger approaches the lower end of its stroke, thus raising the pawl-lever 19; 'andupon the rip-stroke, the chain 32 again straightens out, permitting the pawl-lever 19 to drop and thereby to turn the ratchet as described above.

It will be apparent, and I wish it to be so understood, that either the bow-string form ct operating connection, illustrated at 32 and 34 in F ig. 7, or the direct walking beam connection 22 of Fig. 4, may be used eit ie with the temper-screw hanger as shown in 1, or with the cable hangeras shown in. .l lg. 5. Thus the bow-string connection 32 and 34 may be employed with the usual temper-screw hanger, in which case the upper end of the chain or line 32 may be conuected with the usual upper transverse handle of the temper screw instead of the '00 aim do as illustrated, or the walking beam connection 22 may be employed with the common form of cable hanger indicated in Fig: 7, but as such adaptations are readily apparent to those skilled in the art, I have deemed it superfluous to illustrate them. Both the cable formot hanger and the temper screw being well known in the art, it is, not material to the invention which is used, except in so far as the handle 1 (Fig. 3) of the temper screw may be employed as the pivot for the weighted operating arm 19. But WhateVe-r torm of hanger is employed, the operation of the ratchet 10 and .the weighted arm 19 is the same,

1.- A sucker-rod turner 'con'iprising a clamp-member adapted for connection with a sucker-rod string; a ratchet-member adapt ed for rotatable suspension from a walkingbeam members connecting said clamp-memher and said ratchetanember for unisona-l rotation; a gravity lever; a pawl carried by said lever and arranged to engage and turn aid ratchet-member upon the gravity stroke of said lever andto slip the ratchet-member upon the reverse stroke; and means de pendent upon the operation of the walking beam tor lifting and relieving said lever.

2; A sucker-rod turner comprising a clamp-member adapted for connection with Liz a sucker-rod string; a ratchet-member adapted for rotatable suspension from a walking beam; members connecting said clamp-member and said ratchet-member for unisonal rotation; a gravity lever; a pawl carried by said lever and arranged to engage and turn said ratchet-member upon the gravity stroke of said lever and to slip the ratchet-member upon the reverse stroke; and a line connected with said lever and having another connection adapting it, by the operation of the walking-beam, to lift and relieve said lever. A sucker rod turner comprising a clamp member adapted for engaging a polish-rod of a sucker-rod string; a ratchetmeniber adapted for rotatable suspension on a temper-screw of a walking-beam; members connecting said clamp-member and said ratchet-member for unisonal rotation; a gravity lever adapted for pivotal connection with the temper-screw; a pawl carried by said lever and arranged to engage and turn said ratchet member upon the gravity stroke of said lever, and to slip the ratchet member on the reverse stroke; and means dependent upon the operation of the walking beam for lifting and relieving said lever.

A A suckerrod turner comprising a clamp-m-ember adapted for engaging a polish-rod of a sucker-rod string; a ratchetmember adapted for rotatable suspension on a temper-screw of a walking-beam; members connecting said clamp-member and said ratchet-member for unisonal rotation; a gravity lever adapted for pivotal connection with the temper-screw; a pawl carried by said lever and arranged to engage and turn said ratchet member upon the gravity'stroke of said lever, and to slip the ratchet member on the reverse stroke; and a line connected with said lever and having another connection adapting it, by the operation of the walking-beam to lift and relieve said lever.

5. In combination with a sucker-rod string, a member for imparting reciprocating movement thereto, and a hanger connecting said string with said member, a turner for said string comprising a ratchet member rotatably carried upon said hanger and connected with said string for unisonal rotation therewith; a gravity lever pivotally carried by said hanger; a pawl carried by said lever and arranged to engage and turn said ratchet member upon the gravity stroke of said lever and to slip the ratchet member on the reverse stroke, and means dependent upon the re ciprocation of the string for lifting and relieving said lever.

6. In combination with a sucker-rod string, a member for imparting reciprocating movement thereto, and a hanger connecting said string with said member, a turner for said string comprising a ratchet member rotatably carried upon said hanger and connected with said string for unisonal rotation therewith; a gravity lever pivotally carriedby said hanger; a pawl carried by said lever and arranged to engage and turn said ratchet member upon the gravity stroke of said lever and to slip the ratchet member on the reverse stroke, and a line connected with said lever and having another connection adapting it, by the reciprocation of the string, to lift and relieve said lever.

7. In combination with a sucker-rod string, a member for imparting reciprocating movement thereto, and a hanger connecting said z string with said member, a turner for said string comprising a ratchet member rotatably carried upon said hanger and connected with said string for unisonal rotation therewith; a gravity lever pivotally carried by said hanger; a pawl carried by said lever and arranged to engage and turn said ratchet member upon the gravity stroke of said lever and to slip the ratchet member on the reverse stroke, a tension line connecting said lever with said hanger; a fixed support; and a connection between said support and an intermediate point on said line adapted to reduce its effective length during certain portions of the stroke of said string to lift said lever.

8. In combination with a walking-beam, a hanger suspended therefrom, atemper-screw carried by said hanger, a transverse bar car ried by said temper-screw, and a sucker-rod string rotatably suspended from said temperscrew, a turner for said saring comprising a ratchet member connected with said string; a lever pivotally mounted upon the'transverse bar of said temper screw; a pawl carried by said lever and adapted to engage and turn said ratchet member upon one stroke of said lever and to slip the ratchet member upon the reverse stroke; and means dependent upon the operation of the walking beam for reciprocating said lever.

9. In combination with a walking beam, a hanger suspended therefrom, a temper-screw carried by said hanger, a transverse bar carried by said temper-screw, and a sucker-rod string; a sucker-rod turner comprising a clamp member secured to said string; a ratchet member rot-atably carried upon the lower end of said temper-screw and connected with said clamp member; a lever pivotally mounted upon the transverse bar of said temper screw; a pawl carried by said lever and adapted to engage and turn said ratchet member upon one stroke of said lever and to slip the ratchet member upon the reverse stroke; and means dependent upon the op eration of the walking beam for reciprocat ing said lever.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ELMER T. GRIBBLE. 

